


Taste of Pegasus

by Tarlan



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Community: mcsheplets, Established Relationship, Future Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-06
Updated: 2014-09-06
Packaged: 2018-02-16 09:10:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2263989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tarlan/pseuds/Tarlan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>John and Rodney get another taste of Pegasus - and it almost gets a taste of them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Taste of Pegasus

**Author's Note:**

> Written for **McSheplets** 180: Ten years  
>  A belated entry to the SGA Ten Years fest!

The snap of twigs beneath his feet as he ran would give away his position but John had little option. The Bola Kai were formidable hunters so stealth was not going to save him - or Rodney. The only safety was in the grassland beyond the tree line, where the Stargate resided, waiting like an ageless sentinel for their command.

He had sent Teyla ahead as she was swifter of foot, faster than even Ronon, knowing she would begin the dialing sequence and send through the code so he and Ronon could bring Rodney back to the safety of Atlantis.

To one side he could hear Rodney's laboring breaths, grateful that the years of dangerous missions had kept him in far better shape than those early days in Pegasus. He had never managed to convince Rodney to go running with him and Ronon each morning, and had felt a little resentful to learn Rodney preferred to run with a couple of other scientists instead, but the explanation had been simple enough. Rodney had not wanted to hold John and Ronon back, forcing them to slow down to keep pace with him rather than stretch themselves. John couldn't fault him on that as their greater stamina would protect Rodney so he could concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other as they ran for their lives.

Eventually they broke through the tree line, and despite the urge to play hero, John ordered Ronon to hold their flank while John urged Rodney on. A spear sliced through the air, barely missing them as Rodney stumbled, lurching to the side on an uneven clump of grass almost as if the ground beneath his feet was also trying to protect him. Ahead the wormhole rippled and they stumbled up the few steps.

"Ronon!"

John shoved Rodney through while he and Teyla lay covering fire for Ronon.

Seconds later they were all in the gate room and John heard the sound of spears striking the shield moments before the Stargate shut down.

Ahead of him, Rodney was leaning over, elbows braced on knees and head bowed as he tried to regain his breath. He waved off one of the soldiers until he realized he could unladen the burden of a heavy backpack onto the marine.

John stepped up beside him and pressed his hand down on Rodney's back, smiling wryly when Rodney glanced up, face red and sweaty.

"I'm getting... too old for this," he whined.

John smirked because Rodney had run faster and for longer today than he had managed on that first trip through the Atlantean Stargate ten years earlier. That had been Rodney's first real taste of Pegasus and at the time he had been a soft-bellied scientist who rarely stepped outside of a laboratory. He had insisted on accompanying them to see the hive ship that had taken Sumner and Teyla hostage only to find the hive gone but a contingent of Wraith left behind. At least none of them had run smack into an Iratus web today, or been grazed by one of the poison-tipped spears favored by the Bola Kai - a paralyzing agent meant to bring down the prey without killing it. Teyla believed they might be cannibals, preferring their meat fresh.

"Colonel Sheppard!" Woolsey called from the railing in the control room above.

Teyla answered the unspoken question. "Bola Kai," she spat out.

The Bola Kai were the scavengers of Pegasus; a warrior tribe moving from one planet to the next to take advantage of Wraith-culled worlds. Their pickings had been far slimmer since the defeat of the Wraith a few years earlier. Defenses were stronger, along with the bonds forged between worlds as Pegasus slowly came out from beneath the shadow of the Wraith.

Woolsey nodded, mouth set in a grim line, agreeing to debrief on the following day.

An hour later, after a hot shower and a meal, John lightly kicked Rodney's shin under the table in the mess.

"Still feeling too old?"

Rodney rolled his eyes. They were both just short of fifty now, and even John had more than a few silver hairs at his temples. At least Rodney's hair had stopped receding, reminding John of the elderly Rodney who had given 25 years of his life and willingly destroyed 48 thousand years of a time line in order to save him.

"Depends what you have in mind, Sheppard."

John grinned. "I think I can find something less physically taxing than running for our lives. Just." He waggled his eyebrows, gaining a snort of amusement because Rodney had told him often enough that it made him look manic rather than sexy.

It gained him the desired result though, and they quickly bused their trays and headed back to the quarters they shared. Later he would joke about cooking pots and cannibals but for the rest of this night all he wanted to taste was the sweetness of Rodney's lips and skin.

END  
.


End file.
